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Deadly Clash Near Nablus Fuels Wave of Settler Attacks and Israeli Crackdown

By combining large military raids with plans to legalize outposts the government risks deepening a cycle of violence across the West Bank.

Overview

  • A confrontation near the village of Tel on Friday left six people dead—four Palestinians and two Israelis—and footage and a later army photo show a Palestinian taking a settler's weapon before shots were fired.
  • In the hours and days after the shooting settlers attacked multiple Palestinian villages, burning at least two mosques, spraying Hebrew 'revenge' graffiti, and setting up new tents and outposts near Nablus.
  • The Israel Defense Forces launched broad operations across the Nablus area, imposed roadblocks, raided homes and a hospital, and said it had detained more than 70 people as it hunts those responsible.
  • Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered troop reinforcements and announced 'throughgoing measures' in so-called terror hubs while announcing faster legalization and expansion of outposts.
  • Humanitarian groups report blocked ambulances, cut-off patients and two women forced to give birth in vehicles, and analysts warn that pairing hard security measures with settlement moves raises the risk of wider, harder-to-control escalation.